Northeast girls edge Doral for state final four berth

Ta’Kyla Austin could feel it slipping away. Doral’s Yari Martinez was lifting and hitting 3-point shots from 25 feet, taking the game and the crowd with her with every stroke.

But the Northeast senior would not be denied her retribution in Lakeland, scoring a game-high 31 points Friday in a 55-48 region 4-7A championship win at Doral. Northeast (13-9) lost in last year’s final four. Austin made 5 3-pointers in the win.

“The atmosphere was really loud,” Austin said. “I’m happy our fans came down from Oakland Park to support us. I just didn’t want to lose. I’m trying to get back to states. As a senior, I didn’t want it to be my last game. I had to do what I had to do for us to win. That’s the main thing."

Taniyah Pluviose wrecked the boards in the first quarter, pulling the Hurricanes to a 15-7 edge. Then Martinez started feeling it. The soft shooting senior sank some seriously deep 3-pointers and led the Firebirds into the contest, forcing a 23-23 tie at halftime.

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“It was a battle, but not really a conversation,” Austin said. "She’ll (Martinez) go down and shoot and I’ll go down and shoot. It wasn’t any talking it was just back and forth playing. She wanted it. I wanted it.”

Austin and Martinez continued to trade jabs in the third frame, resulting in a 34-32 Northeast edge. The lead changed hands twice in the fourth frame, before Paula Guerrero hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer for Doral, sending it to overtime. Austin ended the drama at the foul line late in the bonus period, sending Northeast back to state.

“If (Martinez’s) momentum would have kept going and we would have stayed down, we would have lost,” Austin said. “I did not want that to happen so I had to pull back our momentum, talk to my team and turn it back on.”

Martinez scored 29 points in the loss, making four 3-pointers. Doral (22-7) was playing in its first regional championship. Northeast faces Fort Walton Beach at 3 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Lakeland Center.

TRACK

Northwestern produced the winning girl’s track team and the fourth-place boy’s team Saturday night at the Louie Bing Invitational at Traz Powell.

American Heritage’s Anthony Schwartz won the 100-meter with a time of 11.29.

“It feels great,” Schwartz said. “[Tyrese and I] always try and beat each other and he pushes me since he’s one of the fastest kids in the nation.”

Sophomore Tyrese Cooper of Norland finished second in the 100-meter. Cooper won the 400-meter with a time of 45.44. Cooper would have won the 200-meter, but he was disqualified for taunting as he crossed the finish line.

Northwestern freshman Markalah Hart won the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles.

UM commit Kayla Johnson of Southridge won the 800-meter with a time of 2.10.01. Eighth-grader Jinah Mickens-Malik of Mater finished three seconds behind her in second place.

“I did great, but I came in with a humble mindset knowing I could be beat at any time. I wanted to defend my title from last year,” said Twanisha Terry of Northwestern, who won the girl’s 100-meter with a time of 12.01. She is committed to USC.